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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.16.07 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING APRIL 16, 2007 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant 2. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty noted one ofthe new fire fighters was a firefighter in Burnsville. Staff explained that is his fulltime job. She asked about the bill for professional services for Flagstaff Avenue for $25,000. Staff explained that is for the appraisal firm. Councilmember McKnight asked if it was typical for the liquor operations fund to be this far in the hole in March. Finance Director Roland stated the expenditures reflect a large quantity of inventory purchased. This is not usual. Councilmember Wilson asked if the appointment recommendations for the Fire Department are a result of the City growing or if fire fighters have left. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated two people have left and there were also two vacancies. This brings the total fire fighters to 52. Councilmember Wilson asked ifthere was a formula to determine the number of fire fighters required. City Administrator Herlofsky replied there is, and it is based on contributions and investments. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated this amount is similar to other communities of this size. They look at a ratio similar to the police. City Administrator Herlofsky noted they were also looking to have more people available during the day. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) April 16, 2007 Page 2 Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the mowing agreement with Toro. Staff noted Toro would maintain the test area all the time. Councilmember Fogarty noted they received the City Administrator's performance review form. She suggested that within the next six months City Administrator Herlofsky look for different formats. Councilmember Wilson asked if the boulevard tree policy was still unresolved. Mayor Soderberg stated the practice of replacing boulevard trees has stopped. Councilmember Wilson asked ifthat is being communicated citywide. City Administrator Herlofsky replied staff is taking an inventory of trees and will bring back a recommendation at the next meeting. 5. STAFF COMMENTS a) Planning Commission Vacancy - Administration One application has been received since the vacancy was advertised. There are also two applications on file from the January interviews. Council directed staff to advertise for another three weeks on cable and the website and to set interviews prior to the pre-Council Meeting on May 7,2007. Administrative Services Director Shadick informed Council that video streaming of Council Meetings has been delayed to May 21, 2007. 6. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto adjourn at 6:43 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~~ Jr7~~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR APRIL 16, 2007 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Soderberg led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Tom Herme, Justine Jacobson, Bev Bohm, Randy Oswald, Ed Samuelson, Jim Bell 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Wilson pulled item 7a) Council Minutes to abstain. Mayor Soderberg added 5c) Proclamation for National Day of Prayer. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Proclaim Earth Day - Public Works MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto proclaim April 22, 2007 as Earth Day. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Proclaim Arbor Day - Parks and Recreation MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to proclaim Apri127, 2007 as Arbor Day. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Proclaim National Day of Prayer MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to proclaim May 3, 2007 as National Day of Prayer. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Ms. Justine Jacobson, 3319 213th Street and Ms. Bev Bohm, 1217 Maple Street noted there will be a National Day of Prayer event held on May 3,2007 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Rambling River Park. Attending will be Senator Pat Pariseau, Representative Pat Garafalo, VFW Color Guard and the American Legion. There will be music and playground attendance for children. Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 2 Mayor Soderberg noted staff is continuing to accept applications for the Planning Commission vacancy. Interviews will be held prior to the pre-Council Meeting on May 7,2007. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Received Information First Quarter Building Permit Report - Building Inspections c) Received Information School and Conference - Police Department d) Approved School and Conference - Fire Department e) Approved HV AC Service Agreement - Parks and Recreation f) Received Information Dakota County Fair - Administration g) Approved Mowing Agreement with Toro Company - Parks and Recreation h) Approved Appointment Recommendation Police Administration - Human Resources i) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources j) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources k) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources I) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources m) Approved Image Trend Contract - Human Resources n) Received Information March 2007 Financial Report - Finance 0) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. a) Approve Council Minutes (4/2/07 Regular)(4/9/07 Special) MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve the Council Minutes. Voting for: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff. Abstain: Wilson. MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Approve Issuance of General Obligation Capital Improvement Bonds - Finance The purpose ofthis item is to issue capital improvement plan bonds for the City Hall project. The legislature allows bonding authority by cities to plan for and finance public facilities. The new City Hall will be built at the corner of Spruce and 3Td Street. In order to issue the bonds a capital improvement plan must be prepared with a five year period. The plan would begin with 2007. The issue of the bonds is subject to reverse referenda. Residents would have 30 days from this public hearing to submit a petition for reverse referenda to stop the issuance of the bonds. This would be until May 16,2007. After that time, ifthere is no petition, the City is free to issue the bonds. The bond sale is set for June 4, 2007. They would be payable on the 2008 tax levy. The amount ofthe bonds is $9,990,000. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to approve the Capital Improvement Plan for 2007-2011. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 3 MOTION by Wilson, second by McKnight to adopt RESOLUTION R36-07 giving preliminary approval for the issuance of the City's General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Bonds in an amount not to exceed $9,990,000. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Adopt Resolution - Authorize Advertisement for Bids for City Hall and First Street Garage - Administration Mr. John McNamara presented the plans for the new City Hall. Wold is ready to go out for bids in April and May. Council approval would be held at the June 4, 2007 Council Meeting. The construction budget for City Hall is $7,674,000. The total project cost including furniture and equipment is $9,143,000. The new First Street Garage will also be bid with the City Hall project. MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adopt RESOLUTION R37-07 authorizing the advertisement for bids for the construction of City Hall and First Street Garage. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Flagstaff Interceptor Sewer Update - Engineering The Met Council has agreed to participate with the sewer system to be installed in the Flagstaff Avenue area. They will share in 1/3 of the cost. This will also include maintenance costs. Staff has been working with Lakeville to bring this interceptor to the Lakeville border. The cost ofthe project is $5.4 million which does not include right-of-way acquisitions. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Ice Arena Discussion - Administration Mayor Soderberg noted this was to discuss Farmington's ice arena, not the school district facilities or the sportsplex. City Administrator Herlofsky stated there have been some questions regarding the ice arena. In the past it was an enterprise fund, and it has been changed to a special revenue fund because it was running a deficit. The rates have been raised for ice time recently, and the City will be advertising that the arena can be used in the off-season for other things. Staffwill also be reviewing the schedule for ice time to see if that can be increased. The facility would need to be in operation for at least 2-3 years. Mayor Soderberg stated ifthere are two more sheets of ice built in the City, there would not be enough demand for the ice arena. There is not enough demand for year around ice and it is more expensive to operate in the summer. There is a facility in Lakeville that is open year around. Mr. Jeff Thelen, 616 Lower Heritage Way, noted it was interesting staff has been talking with Lakeville about their arena. Hopefully, other governmental entities Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 4 can accept some discussion. In February the school board and the City had one of three joint meetings in the last couple years. He attended both of those meetings. At the first meeting there was discussion among a couple Councilmembers about what the possibility would be of a joint use between the school board and the City for the existing ice arena. There was a request from Councilmember Wilson that the discussion take place. Mr. Thelen thought the school board had agreed to take part in those conversations. Yet four days later the school passed a resolution approving the bond referendum for the ice arena and the rest of the sportsplex to be built on a site specific on Flagstaff Avenue. Not only do we want to talk about the ice arena itself, but what the City can do to keep our arena going, rather than saying it will be shut down. A lot of people are under the assumption we will have three sheets of ice in town. He heard it here we will not have three sheets of ice in the City. Ifwe are working with Lakeville on joint use of their facilities, it would make sense that we would have more conversation with our own school board on joint use of the ice. That conversation never took place. There was a meeting one week later and the decision was already made by the school board that they did not care to take part in any conversation related to the ice arena with the City. They went on their own and the conversation never took place. At the second meeting, there was confusion as to what the participation was from the City Council regarding the sportsplex. At that point it was being portrayed as a partnership between the City and the School Board. Mr. Thelen stated he heard from Mayor Soderberg there was no planning with the City Council and the School Board. There is no financial participation. What is the participation, if any at all, between the City and the School Board? That day there was confusion about what was being portrayed and what the City's actual participation was. He believed Councilmember Fogarty asked the School Board before they start making their public announcements as to what the participation would be, that it be run by the City Council so both parties agree on what the participation will be. Mr. Thelen asked how that went. Has there been any presentation by the School Board for the sportsplex. Mayor Soderberg stated that is not germane to this agenda item for the ice arena. The participation has been clarified. The sportsplex is 100% a school district project. The City does not have any control over it, and is not involved in the finances or the location. It is not right for the Council to take a position. We are separate entities. Mayor Soderberg stated there have been no more meetings. Staff has been discussing how park and recreation programs will use existing and future facilities. In the future, there will be more discussion of joint use of facilities. With regard to the ice arena, the school district is within their right to have a referendum. If they build two sheets of ice, it is not financially feasible for the City. Councilmember Wilson stated if there is a positive vote in May, that does not mean the arena will be shut down. There would have to be significant investments made in the arena. Council has not made a decision on the future of the arena. It would be worthwhile to look at alternatives at that point. Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 5 Mr. Tim Burke, 20087 Heathrow Way, stated Councilmember Wilson made reference to what kind of investment the City would have to make if the ice arena were to be an ongoing enterprise as an ice arena. He has heard numbers of over $2 million and he wanted to know where that number came from and who provided it. City Administrator Herlofsky stated there was a facilities report compiled over a year ago that had some costs relating to the actual replacement of the floor, which would be the most extensive portion of the remodeling that was $800,000 - $900,000. The ice making equipment is 30 years old and needs some repairs. So half of the cost would be for the floor and the other half for equipment. Mr. Burke asked if the report could be placed on the City's website. With regard to the relationship of the City's ice and the sportsplex, there is some information people need to know about the City's facility to make an intelligent decision about the sportsplex. If as most people presume, that if two sheets of ice are built by the school district, that there is no economic reason to continue to operate the City's ice arena as an ice arena, then the City is left with two sheets of ice. Perhaps an alternative that is more economical for the community, perhaps not for the City government, but for the community and the people who pay all the taxes, which should be the overriding concern, it might be more economical to put the money into rehabilitating the ice that we have and building an additional sheet of ice. The land that was bought or donated next to the arena was retained specifically with that in mind. Numbers Mr. Burke hears from people that are knowledgeable in the ice arena business are that the rehab of the ice, the expansion of the locker rooms, building a new concession stand, and putting in a second sheet of new ice could probably be done for around $6 million. If we are looking at ending up with two sheets of ice in Farmington, and he felt there is a reasonable need for two sheets of ice, that maybe the most economical thing for the taxpayers in Farmington, is to not build two brand new sheets of ice, but to rehab one old sheet of ice and build an additional sheet of ice on a facility that already exists. He has been told there are issues with the DNR because of the relationship of the property to the river behind it. He was wondering what staff can say about any issues there might be with those ecological concerns and things that might be required ifthere was to be an expansion of the Schmitz-Maki site. Councilmember Wilson stated he was on the facilities task force and the numbers floating around are consistent with that report. He agreed the report should be placed on the website. Mayor Soderberg stated regarding the ecological concerns, anytime we get within a certain proximity of the trout stream, environmental agencies weigh in. The current arena and any expansion involved would include a thorough study by them. Storm water runoff would be the largest concern. Mr. Burke stated the issue is people in the community are about to make a commitment one way or the other whether to spend $24 million, and a large number of people are going to make that commitment based specifically on the ice. That is what is driving the decision making for a large portion of the community. So there is a need for the City to offer a perspective with regard to its own ice arena and let the community know if a more reasonably priced project is a possibility in Farmington that would obviate the need to build an expensive piece of ice, when we could have a fully Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 6 functional and essentially brand new two sheets of ice where we are right now. This also addresses some concerns Councilmembers have raised about where traffic is driven by events and the desire to have more activity driven towards the downtown. Ifwe continue to have high school hockey games and youth hockey association tournaments close to the core City, that would be better for the City from an economic development standpoint. That issue was brought up at the meetings the Council had with the school district. There are concerns that the City has with regard to land use, economic development, things that fall within the City's purview, and recreation facilities. The City has a park and recreation department and is the only body of government in Farmington that has a parks and recreation department. Mr. Burke suggested that in order for voters to make an informed decision about the best way to spend all of their tax dollars, not just school or City or state income tax dollars, that the City would serve its constituents by looking at the possibilities at the City ice arena and let residents know ifthere is something that absolutely prohibits this from being part ofthe equation that people consider before they vote on May 8. Some ofthe people involved in the youth hockey association talk about the condition of the City's ice arena and that it is unreliable and because of that we need to build a new facility. What Mr. Burke hears from City staff involved in running the operation is that the ice is good, the facilities are sound, they may be old but they are well maintained and he asked staff's assessment of the facility as it stands right now. City Administrator Herlofsky stated it is a 30 year old facility and he is not aware of any events being cancelled because the ice was not there for them. Mayor Soderberg stated 30 year old facilities require maintenance. Mr. Burke clarified they are saying there is nothing wrong with this facility. Mayor Soderberg replied that is what staff is saying, there is fundamentally nothing wrong with the building. City Administrator Herlofsky added other than things getting old and as we look to the future, making substantial upgrades to the facility. That would take place within the next five years for the equipment. Mr. Burke stated the City has a preventative maintenance program and they replace things on a scheduled basis. There is no reason to believe we are on the verge of a breakdown with that facility. City Administrator Herlofsky stated we are not intending for that to occur. Mr. Burke stated there is nothing that indicates that would happen. Yet there are people out there that are suggesting this facility is unreliable. He wanted to dispel that notion. Mayor Soderberg asked staff if there is anything that would prohibit building a second sheet of ice next to the current arena. City Administrator Herlofsky replied nothing staff is aware of at this point. There are some concerns. There was a consultant that provided staff in 2005 a feasibility study proposal to go through the process. There are certain steps that need to be taken before we could be sure it could be done. City Engineer Mann cautioned we should not downplay the ecological concerns with the amount of parking that would be needed. To identify how we would mitigate that with the proximity ofthe trout stream, right now we do not have a clear idea of how we would achieve that. It is not a guarantee we would be able to come up with something depending on the size of Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 7 the parking lot, size of the building, and what sort ofproject we would want to go forward with. There could be limitations. Mr. Burke stated if there were an EIS done, would staff need to describe for that study the site plan for buildings and hard surfaces, etc. or would the EIS be done based on the site as it exists. City Engineer Mann was not certain an EIS would be triggered with this type ofproject. It would be more based on the PCA's rules for trout streams. The site design and layout and storm water management mitigation would all be part ofthe scrutiny ofthe project. Mr. Burke asked ifthe PCA would be looking for a proposed site plan before they made their decision. City Engineer Mann replied that would be part of the application process. Mr. Burke asked what it would take to develop a concept like that in terms of time and dollars. City Engineer Mann replied staff would have to research that. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated when we raised the rental rates of the ice, he assumed we were putting a good product out. Staff would not have brought something to Council where we are not providing a good product. Councilmember Wilson stated he was uncomfortable with speculating on the condition of the facility without referring to an official report. Even though we know in the facilities report, Wold assessed certain conditions, if something went wrong tomorrow, then the last comment about the arena was that the Council generally said the arena was in good operating condition. We do not have any current engineering information. Mayor Soderberg stated the ice arena is functional. Mr. Burke stated the current facility is being slandered in the public as an unreliable, outdated, essentially obsolete and unusable facility. Some people are spreading the idea that the ice facility the City operates is not to be counted on. Mayor Soderberg stated it is a very usable sheet of ice and we intend to continue to operate it at least for the next two to three years. Up to now, no one has had to cancel an event or an activity because ice was not available. Mr. Burke then asked with regard to how the operating net on the arena is calculated, first the arena is carrying no capital debt so we are talking about operations. For 2006 staff calculated an operating debt of $70,000 - $80,000. He has been told that some of the salaries that are attributed to that line item are people who do not spend all of their time out there and that it might be more accurately portrayed by properly allocating the time of the City employees based on what they actually do out there. So we might actually see a smaller operating deficit if allocation of employee times were based on where they work as opposed to just assigning a cost to a line item without regard to how much time employees spent there. Mayor Soderberg replied a number of items in the budget are being reviewed in regards as to how things are being allocated. City Administrator Herlofsky stated there are a couple people who are charged for half a year which is consistent with what they do. The budget is an estimate. At the end of the year actual costs are charged to that facility. Actual costs have shown it to be running at a deficit. We will be taking a closer look at this year and next year to see if we Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 8 can pinpoint some ofthe costs closer. The supervisor's salary allocation is being reviewed. Mr. Burke felt when we are looking at a relatively small operating deficit, that number is being used toward the argument for new ice. We need to be as accurate with the numbers as possible so the public is not misled on this issue. He hoped the Council would direct staff to explore as quickly as possible what the potential is for the City's ice arena to be expanded. Ifit can be turned into two sheets of ice, one rehab, one new for $6 or 7 million the community comes out ahead. If they know that, they can use that to help make their decision about how they vote on May 8. Mr. Burke feels this is an important thing the City can do right now to contribute to a knowledgeable electorate. He hoped Council would do that and make public what the City can prior to May 8. Councilmember Wilson stated he appreciated a resident who is interested in the budget. However, the questions he was asking relative to the operating costs to the arena, was that insight gained from reviewing the budget or how did he come to those conclusions such as staff allocation. Mayor Soderberg stated he has also had other people bring up those same questions. Mr. Burke added it is from his experience of having served on elected boards before. Mayor Soderberg stated all of the information Mr. Burke mentioned was public information. Mr. Leon Orr, 19161 Echo Lane, stated he has been associated with an organization that has a men's hockey team that skates on hockey arenas throughout the metropolitan area. They have been known to say that their two favorite sheets of ice to skate on because of the quality of the ice, are Farmington and St. Thomas. Any talk about the ice being inferior is nonsense. He checked with the City of Burnsville and they have two sheets of ice. Their first sheet was built a few years before Farmington's. We copied their refrigeration system and put in the identical system, manufactured and installed by the same company, a direct Freon system. Their system is several years old and they are planning on replacing the refrigeration system in 2010. If you apply the same period of time Farmington's would be good for, we would be good until 2012-2013. Burnsville has plans for both sheets of ice to take the floor out and put in a new system, plus replace the boards in both arenas, which are approaching $100,000 each. They are proposing to do the entire project for two sheets of ice for $1.4 million. As far as maintenance, and it is due to the City's present and past good maintenance of the facility, is the reason it performs the way it does. There has not been a leak in the floor. He was at the arena within the past month and was told they are in the process of overhauling one ofthe compressors. That is an example of how our people have kept that facility up to date. He stated it looks as good today as it did in the early 1970's when it was built. That is to the credit ofthe City. Age is one thing, maintenance does a lot to a facility like this, plus you have the normal expectation of a lifetime of that type of facility. When you consider the rink that we have modeled after as far as the mechanical system, we have another 5-6 years before we have to do anything as far as replacing. If you follow Burnsville's budgeting, it is nothing near $2.1 million that someone has come up with. Mr. Jim Bell, 201 Maple Street, stated he wanted to clarify something Mr. Orr said. It is untrue that Burnsville can be compared to us totally. They have a sand Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 9 floor, we have a concrete floor. Concrete floors tend to heat up the pipes more than sand floors do. If someone in the opposition of his group brings that up, he will have to clarify that. He took offense to Mr. Burke's comments. Mr. Bell stated he did 27 budgets on that arena and never fudged on salaries once. He took offense to that. Mr. Bell feels this has been a political thing. He is staying neutral. The ice arena is near and dear to his heart. When he heard that is was a $2 million overhaul, I said no way. We maintained that building. If you go inside those compressors, they are just like new. He passed that on to Dwight Bjerke and Dwight passed it on to Jeremy Pire. Youth Hockey's biggest problem with the building over the years is team rooms, concession stand, lobby, etc. It has never been the ice or the boards. In that $2.1 million there is an elevator to get upstairs because the concession stand is upstairs. The concession stand is run by Youth Hockey, and the City does not get one dime from that. They run it totally on their own. Ten years ago we lost all the revenue out ofthe concession stand. It is not right, that building should be making money from the concession stand, but that is what a former Council decided to do. He stated the arena is nice and there is a need for a second sheet. There are probably other ways of doing it, but we do have this before us. We do have a chance to get two sheets of ice. There are other uses for our building. We have to get together and think about it. He had some ideas himself. It is unfortunate that the opposition group is using this as a forum to get their word out over TV. The youth hockey people and the people that are for this are not here to say the same thing. He feels this whole thing is premature and did not need to be discussed until after May 8. Now we are talking about it and it sounds like a pro-opposition forum. We should all calm down, we will find out after May 8 what will happen and then we can decide what to do with our ice arena, whether we put money into it, whether we use it for the next 20 years, that building will last. There are buildings on the iron range that are still running with the same system. It is just the maintenance part. Whether elevators or bathrooms need to be refigured for the handicapped, the building was handicapped accessible in 1976. Things change. Unless we start tearing things apart, they are perfectly fine. He hates to see our buildings bad mouthed and see this whole thing going on. It is typical Farmington, not sitting down and working together to make something happen. We have an opportunity to have some recreation facilities in this town and it is not only the City that will have to pay for them. The townships are also involved. That is a huge thing. For 27 years he tried to run all the recreation facilities in the school district and was not getting any help from the townships. We need to calm down and see how it comes out May 8 and then we can work from there. Mr. Tom Herme, 905 Larch Street, stated he is hearing the time for discussion is after the vote occurs and he thinks that is the opposite of the way a democratic society runs. We have discussion and then we vote on it. He asked if anyone knows if the youth hockey association has ever offered to step forward and subsidize the cost of any ice in the city above and beyond the hourly rates or what any organization is charged for ice. Mr. Bell replied they put money into the building. Lakeville Youth Hockey put the two team rooms in up on the mezzanine and Farmington Youth Hockey built the concession stand. The school district and Youth Hockey put in the glass behind the players boxes this past year. Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 10 They have contributed some money in the past. Mr. Herme asked what would be considered the contribution of all those items just mentioned and has the offer ever been made to pony up $100,000 a year to operate ice in the City. Mayor Soderberg stated the answer to the first question can be researched. He was not aware of the answer to the second question. What we will do with our ice arena will be discussed after May 8. He will not interfere with what happens with the election. Mr. Orr stated historically, there are not many times he and Mr. Bell disagree, however, both Burnsville ice arenas are a concrete floor according to their manager. They are going to dig out the concrete and replace the concrete and the pipes. This can be verified very easily. He wanted to note that what he said was not untrue. They are not sand floors. Mr. Bell stated the first building had sand floors for 25 years. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he and City Administrator Herlofsky spoke to Dr. Brad Meeks about the $2.1 million and what that includes. He knew the $2.1 million was for more than what is being compared. There was money for the parking lot, etc. The floor was proposed to come before the Council in 2008. He wanted to make sure we are comparing numbers to the same items that need to be done. We are comparing two sheets of ice with one, but we are also doing other items. Councilmember Wilson believed the school district will also have a forum. The point of this discussion was on the matter of the ice arena. The school district's forum will be Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the High School cafeteria. Councilmember McKnight wanted to make sure the facilities report gets on the website as quickly as possible with a prominent link. Councilmember Fogarty thanked everyone for coming to speak on this topic. It is important to discuss this issue and let people know there will not be a third sheet of ice in Farmington. She wanted to respond to the comment about this being a typical Farmington thing. If Farmington is known for having great debates about important issues, then good for us. This is an important issue and it is great to have a debate in the community. People can view it as fighting ifthey want, but she does not. It is important to discuss these issues and to have good debates. It is important for our future and she was glad we have a citizenry that is very involved in this community. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember McKnight: Clean-up day starts on Saturday. Councilmember Wilson: Saturday, May 5, is park and pond clean-up. He and his cub scout group will be at Lake Julia. There will be a barbecue at Rambling River Park afterwards. Council Minutes (Regular) April 16, 2007 Page 11 Councilmember Pritz/af/: In northern Minnesota when they do hydrant flushing, they put the water into the tanker trucks and reuse it for watering rather than letting it go into the street. He also suggested doing it late at night so it does not affect the homeowners or the water pressure. Staff will look into this. City Engineer Mann: There will be an Earth and Arbor Day event at Rambling River Park from 11 :30 a.m. - 1 :00 p.m. on April 22, 2007. Administrative Services Director Shadick: Video streaming of Council Meetings has been delayed to May 21,2007. Planning Commission meetings will also have video streaming. Mayor Soderberg: Last year for pond clean-up there were 351 registered volunteers and many more participated. This year pond clean-up day is May 5. The State of the City is being rebroadcast. He was made aware that Meadowview Elementary did a jump rope for hearts with 275 children and they raised $15,000 for the Heart Association. Council recessed at 8:36 p.m. and reconvened at 8:45 p.m. for Executive Session. 14. EXECUTIVE SESSION a) Labor Relations Strategy 15. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned following the Executive Session. Respectfully submitted, ~dL. ~~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant